1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to sheet siding components and, more particularly, to decorative corner trim which enhances the aesthetics and increases the perceived value of frame-constructed buildings which are covered with such siding.
2. History of the Prior Art
In 1833, only a year after the city of Chicago began to rise from the treeless glacial plain adjacent lake Michigan, a carpenter from Connecticut named Augustine Deodat Taylor was asked to build a large number of houses in that Illinois city. Taylor responded by building what had become known as balloon frame houses. The walls, ceilings and roofs of a balloon frame structure are constructed from interconnected scantling frames which are subsequently covered. Though Taylor is frequently credited with the invention of the balloon frame structure, it seems that the construction technique emerged over several decades as a popular hybrid of many diverse building methods. In the historic Mississippi River town of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., the French were constructing houses, which still stand, using building methods which were precursors of the balloon frame method. Typically, the French constructed houses with palisade walls-vertical wooden posts placed side by side on 16-inch centers, with a continuous plate nailed across the top. Apparently, the walls were built flat on the ground, then tilted up within trenches dug along the perimeter of the building.
Eventually, this palisade construction was modified so that the posts were nailed onto timber sills resting on stone or brick foundations. When standard-size lumber is substituted for the posts, the process is very close to the balloon construction method.
Light-weight, wood-frame houses have become the standard in this country. Because they are quite resistant to destruction in earthquake-prone regions, they are being adopted in faraway places, such as Japan, where killer earthquakes are common.
For nearly a century after its development, wood-frame construction relied almost exclusively on board siding-applied either vertically in board and bat style, or horizontally in an overlapping formatxe2x80x94as an exterior wall covering. In later years, this has given way to stucco, masonry, plywood sheathing, and horizontally-overlapping siding. Masonry exterior wall coverings are, without doubt, the most expensive. Cedar board and bat exterior covering material is generally the next most expensive to install. Stucco (i.e., steel-mesh-reinforced concrete) is generally less expensive than cedar board and bat. Although plywood exterior sheathing provides an outer covering that is especially structurally sound and quite inexpensive, it requires periodic painting to maintain its appearance and structural integrity. Horizontally-overlapping siding made from aluminum and vinyl materials, though structurally inferior to stucco and plywood siding, require little, if any, maintenance. Consequently, siding is frequently used in combination with inexpensive plywood or waferboard sheathing. They are also relatively inexpensive. Because of relatively low material and installation costs, horizontally-overlapping siding is often used to cover the frame walls of low-cost tract housing. It is infrequently used on custom houses. During the past several decades, corner stone trim pieces, made of cast concrete, have been used with increasing frequency on up-scale homes and office buildings throughout the country. Though such corner trim pieces are typically used in combination with a brick exterior, they are also used in combination with a stucco, or reinforced concrete, exterior. In the latter case, the trim pieces may be formed, or cast, at the same time that the stucco is being applied, thereby being merely thickened regions of stucco. The thickened regions may then be painted a color different from the one used to paint the rest of the building, thereby providing the appearance of individual blocks. In an era where custom high-end homes are looking ever more lavish and ornate, vinyl siding, on account of its wide usage on low and moderate cost homes, is perceived by many home buyers as cheap and unattractive. The escalation in attractiveness of homes covered with vinyl siding has definitely not kept pace with that of expensive custom homes. Though one may say that this fact is a reflection of the reality that the top ten percent of wage-earning households have benefitted disproportionately from the business expansion of the 1990s, another reason is the lack of appearance-enhancing options available for vinyl siding installations.
What is needed are new types of trim for use with vinyl siding that will provide an appearance of enhanced cost and value, without significantly raising the cost of construction.
The present invention includes several new embodiments of corner trim which provide an appearance similar to that provided by the use of cast concrete corner stones at a fraction of the cost. When used as corner decoration on frame structures, concrete corner stones are cast such that each has either a 90-degree V horizontal cross section or an L-shaped horizontal cross section. This is essential, as the upright studs used to frame the exterior walls are either 2xc3x974s or 2xc3x976s. The nominal frame width for these two cases is 3xc2xd inches or 5xc2xd inches, respectively. By having a V-shaped or L-shaped horizontal cross section, use of the corner stones, which when mounted have the appearance of being rectangular solids, provides the illusion that the walls are at least 12 inches thick. When the concrete corner stones are applied to the corner of a building, they are generally affixed in one of two basic configurations. When cast xe2x80x9cstonesxe2x80x9d of the 90-degree V type are used, the stones are usually stacked directly above one another, with brickwork or stucco inserted between adjacent pairs of stones. When L-type stones are used, they are generally stacked one on top of the other, but reversing each stone with respect to its subjacent neighbor. The latter stacking technique provides a hound""s tooth effect when viewing each of the intersecting walls, which share the stacked corner stones, from an elevational view.
The new vinyl corner trim is essentially a shell formed to have the appearance of a corner stone. Like the L-shaped and V-shaped cast concrete stones it emulates, it is designed to fit over the corner of a structure. It may be formed via an injection molding or sheet forming process. A first embodiment of the corner trim incorporates a laminar, perimetric rim at the edges of the shell. When mounted on the building corner, the rim is perpendicular to the walls. A perimetric mounting strip is stapled to the wall sheathing on both sides of the building corner. The corner trim is then pressed into place on the corner, with the edges of the corner trim mating with the mounting strip. A plurality of barbs are employed to secure the rim to the mounting strip. Alternatively, the corner trim may be adhesively bonded to the mounting strip. The mounting strip may include a bracing web, which maintains accurate spacing and configuration of the mounting strip. The perimetric mounting strip may incorporate a groove into which the laminar perimetric rim of the corner trim is pressed. Alternatively, the mounting strip may incorporate a single perimetric wall which mates with the perimetric rim of the corner trim. The mounting strip may be designed so that the perimetric wall mates with either the inner or outer surface of the perimetric rim. A preferred embodiment of the corner trim incorporates a perimetric groove having a width slightly greater than the thickness of the siding, and in which the ends and edges of the abutting siding pieces terminate to provide a finished look.
A second embodiment of the corner trim does not employ a separate mounting, but rather incorporates a perimetric mounting strip that may be stapled directly to the wall sheathing.